Donald Trump has sweeping plans for a second administration. Here’s what he’s proposed

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Murdoch Paper Warns Trump: You Just Got Hit With a Major ‘Political Problem’

The WSJ editorial board handed Donald Trump a reality check.

Rupert Murdoch’s Wall Street Journal just slapped Donald Trump with a stark warning of a looming “political problem” over who will wind up paying his tariffs.

In an editorial published Thursday, the paper’s editorial board said fresh inflation data showed costs climbing for U.S. producers, undermining the president’s claim that other countries would be paying for his import levies.

Consumer-price data released Tuesday from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that the Consumer Price Index rose just 0.2 percent in July and 2.7 percent from a year earlier, suggesting households had yet to feel broad tariff-related price hikes.

But the Producer Price Index (PPI) released Thursday showed wholesale prices climbing faster than economists anticipated, indicating higher consumer prices were on their way.

PPI jumped 0.9 percent in July, marking the sharpest monthly rise in more than three years. It also climbed 3.3 percent year-over-year.

The Journal said many U.S. companies have so far shielded consumers by absorbing those costs.

“This hasn’t shown up in consumer prices so far because many companies entered the Trump tariff era with large cash reserves or wider margins, so they can absorb these costs for the time being,” the board said, adding: “But these companies can’t do this forever.”

It warned that money diverted to tariffs or tariff-driven price hikes “isn’t available for reinvestment in the business, or to return to shareholders.”

That reality, the board argued, “poses a political problem for Mr. Trump and Republicans.”

“The President promises voters that foreigners will pay for his tariff policies. These price data caution that the economy may have other ideas,” the board said.

Americans could end up paying “a big chunk of the tariff bill,” either directly through higher prices or indirectly via slower wage growth.

“With the consumer price index running at an annualized rate not seen in over four years and PPI for core goods—which would be most sensitive to tariffs—now down at a 0.7 percent annualized rate since January, the doom-and-gloom predictions of President Trump’s tariffs ratcheting up inflation continue to be proven flat-out wrong," White House Spokesman Kush Desai told the Daily Beast in a statement.

“The Trump administration’s policies swiftly put an end to Joe Biden’s inflation crisis, and as trillions in investments pour into the United States, they’re now laying the groundwork for a long-term economic resurgence for the American people,” he added.

Trump bragged in a post-election interview with NBC News in December that he “won on groceries,” pointing to soaring food costs during President Joe Biden’s term as pivotal to his victory. But the Journal’s warning suggests Americans could soon be eyeing rising grocery bills under Trump, too.

Real average hourly earnings rose just 0.1 percent in July after no change in June, and over the past 12 months real average hourly earnings increased only 1.2 percent, the board noted, citing BLS data.

The editorial board concluded that if voters see rising costs without matching wage gains, Republicans would be in “the political danger zone.”

“Republicans will make the same mistake as the Biden Administration if they keep telling voters everything is fabulous but the evidence at the grocery store or Applebee’s tells them something different,” it said.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/murdoch-paper-warns-trump-you-just-got-hit-with-a-major-political-problem/?

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Trump’s ‘Ice Maiden’ Shows Laura Loomer Who’s in Charge

Donald Trump’s chief of staff Susie Wiles has won the latest round in MAGA’s civil war.

Robert F. Kennedy’s right-hand man was briefly Laura Loomer’s latest scalp, but had his job saved thanks to the intervention of White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles.

Vinay Prasad, a top regulator at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, was pushed to resign by the president on July 29 at the urging of Loomer, who has become a top MAGA vetting hawk, and ex-GOP Sen. Rick Santorum, who criticized his work.

Prasad has since been offered his position back by the administration and agreed to return. Politico reports that he has Wiles to thank.

Insiders told the site that Wiles pleaded with Trump to overlook Prasad’s old social media posts that harshly criticized him and MAGA voters. The hematologist was hand-picked by Kennedy and FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, and the duo reportedly considers him to be crucial to their Make America Healthy Again coalition.

“After Vinay left, Marty and Bobby worked very, very, very hard through Susie Wiles to tell the president that Vinay was not anti-Trump,” a source in the administration told Politico.

Prasad’s reinstatement is a big win for Kennedy, signaling he still has the support of Trump as he attempts to overhaul U.S. regulation of vaccines and drugs.

It was also a setback for Loomer, whose stringent vetting—in which she digs for any sliver of anti-MAGA sentiment among those in the administration or those hoping to join—has led to several firings by the president.

Loomer, 32, was not happy about Prasad’s reinstatement.

“Vinay Prasad is not only a Democrat donor,” she wrote on X, “but he’s also a Trump hater, and he is a Marxist who said Trump is ‘the worse person in the world.’ ... Just more evidence of a broken vetting system with no standards.”

Loomer had previously unearthed posts by Prasad—then a professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of California, San Francisco—that suggested he was voting for former President Joe Biden in 2020.

Less than a month before the 2020 presidential election, Prasad posted to X that he wanted “Biden to win more than anything.” A year later, he wrote that he viewed himself as a “Sanders/Warren liberal,” referring to the progressive senators from Massachusetts and Vermont.

Loomer was irate that Prasad had snuck through the cracks—at least, in her eyes—to be hired by the Trump administration.

“Prasad’s views are a slap in the face to the conservative values of limited government, deregulation, and economic freedom that YOU voted for!” she posted to X in July. “Vinay Prasad is a Trojan horse in Trump’s FDA. It’s my recommendation that he be FIRED from the Trump admin.”

The White House issued a statement to Politico praising the work Kennedy’s team has been doing.

“Secretary Kennedy and the entire HHS team are doing a terrific job as they deliver on President Trump’s mandate to Make America Healthy Again,” White House spokesperson Kush Desai said. “Scores of prominent restaurant chains and food brands dropping artificial ingredients from our food supply and historic reforms at the FDA to fast track lifesaving drugs and treatments prove that the entire HHS team is delivering for the American people.”

The reversal by the White House has fueled Loomer to go even harder against those in Kennedy’s camp.

Now, Loomer is calling for Trump to ax Stefanie Spear, who is Kennedy’s principal deputy chief of staff and senior counselor, as well as Casey Means, who Trump nominated to be surgeon general. Politico reports that Means is a close Kennedy ally and is the sister of Kennedy adviser Calley Means.

A source told Politico that it appears Loomer wants to split the MAGA and MAHA coalitions in two. On X, she posts that she has no intention of slowing down.

“In the coming weeks, I will be ramping up my exposés of officials within HHS and FDA so the American people can see more of the pay-for-play rot themselves and how rabid Trump haters continue to be hired in the Trump administration,” she posted Saturday. “There are several Senate Confirmation hearings coming up, and I have multiple oppo books ready for distribution! Should be a good time.”

The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House for comment.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/trumps-ice-maiden-susie-wiles-wins-latest-round-in-maga-civil-war-over-laura-loomer/?

ps:Wow all the cat women fighting it out as to who's really top cat in trumps harem!!!!!

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DC sues to block Trump’s federal takeover of its police department as intervention intensifies

The nation’s capital sued to block President Donald Trump’s takeover of its police department in court on Friday, hours after his administration escalated its intervention into the city’s law enforcement by naming a federal official as the new emergency head of the department. Read More.

Live updates: Trump and Putin fly to high-stakes meeting in Alaska

U.S. President Donald Trump will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska for a high-stakes summit that could dictate the trajectory of the war in Ukraine and European security. Trump and Putin are scheduled to meet at 3 p.m. ET, according to the White House. Read More.   Historic summit   President Trump greets Russian President Vladimir Putin on the tarmac after they arrived at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage today. Photo: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AF via Getty President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Alaska this afternoon for their high-stakes summit, which could stretch late into the evening. Trump has set a Ukraine ceasefire as his goal for the summit, telling reporters on Air Force One that he's not sure one will be reached, but he's "not going to be happy" if one isn't. On the scene: Trump greeted Putin with applause as he arrived on a red carpet. After a warm handshake, they entered the presidential limousine nicknamed "the Beast," Axios' Dave Lawler writes. No interpreters appeared to be present, so they likely conversed in English during the short ride to their meeting location. Go deeper. ps:With no results!! So actually what's new?????

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? D.C. takeover heats up

⚖️ D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb sued the Trump administration today to block its federal takeover of the city police department.

• The lawsuit follows Attorney General Pam Bondi's attempt last night to appoint an "emergency police commissioner," which the city rebuffed as illegal.

⚠️ Meanwhile, D.C. Police Chief Pamela A. Smith told a federal court that Bondi's directive "would upend the command structure" of the Metropolitan Police Department.

• In her nearly 30 years of law enforcement, Smith said: "I have never seen a single government action that would cause a greater threat to law and order than this dangerous directive."

Go deeper: Not every Democrat is fighting Trump's D.C. police takeover

 

? The Trump administration is exploring using funds from the CHIPS Act — passed under President Biden — to finance an equity stake in Intel, Bloomberg reports (gift link). The move could involve converting existing Intel grants into equity or allocating new funding that could help the struggling chipmaker, whose stock rallied off the news today.

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A Win in Itself

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In Ukraine, the battle lines long ago calcified into a stalemate, with Russian invaders moving forward incrementally and occasionally getting pushed back. In the diplomatic sphere, however, the territory is shifting fast.

When Donald Trump meets Russia’s Vladimir Putin today in Anchorage, Alaska, the summit will be the latest in a series of concessions by the American president. Trump’s affection for Putin has waned—“I got along well with Putin,” he said this week, conspicuously adopting the past tense—as his frustration with the ongoing war waxes. Yet by inviting Putin to meet, he’s allowing Russia to further protract the conflict.

During the 2024 presidential election, Trump vowed that he would end the war in Ukraine in 24 hours—or even before taking office. After those targets were far in the rearview, with no resolution in sight, he more than promised vague important developments in his trademark two-week increments. More recently, on July 28, he issued Putin a deadline of “10 or 12 days” to cease hostilities, and the following day, he narrowed that down: 10 days, or by August 8. On the day that the ultimatum ran out, Trump announced he’d meet Putin in person, despite no end to the violence.

For the Russian autocrat, this is a win in itself. Putin is a global pariah facing an international warrant for his arrest, but the United States is welcoming him to American soil for the first time since 2015. (The U.S. has never had much respect for international justice structures, but the Trump administration is particularly dismissive of them.) Without stopping his aggression against Ukraine, and despite blowing through a series of deadlines, he gets a photo op with Trump. Putin praised what he called “quite energetic and sincere efforts” toward peace by his American counterpart, which is more than anyone can say for Putin himself.

What’s in it for the president? As my colleagues Vivian Salama, Michael Scherer, and Jonathan Lemire reported last weekend, Trump has grand dreams of a legacy as a peacemaker—perhaps even one with a Nobel Prize. This gives Trump some reason for patience with Putin. But the expectations for this summit keep getting lowered. Initially, the White House allowed suggestions of a tentative peace deal—or at least a genuine cease-fire—to spread in the media.

Now the White House says that Trump will be in Alaska for a “listening exercise,” with Trump saying, “All I want to do is set the table for the next meeting.” He acknowledged this week that the U.S. doesn’t have many levers to pull to stop the killings of Ukrainian civilians. “I’ve had a lot of good conversations with him,” Trump said, referring to Putin. “Then I go home and I see that a rocket hit a nursing home, or a rocket hit an apartment building and people are laying dead in the street.” It was a notable acknowledgment of limitations from a leader who prefers bluster, but Trump does often respond to images he sees on the news.

Earlier this week, Trump suggested that he might push a deal that ends the conflict by swapping territory between the countries. This would be a sweetheart deal for Putin, who would acquire legal control of large swaths of rich Ukrainian land he has already seized illegally by force. The idea received an angry response from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is not invited to the Alaska meeting—itself another win for Putin (though Trump has floated the possibility of Zelensky joining him and Putin in Alaska later). European leaders, who have sought to ease Trump toward their position of support for Kyiv, spoke with him earlier this week, and they said afterward that Trump would not offer any such deal.

But Trump still has little love lost with Zelensky. The men have improved their relationship since Trump and Vice President J. D. Vance berated Zelensky in the Oval Office early this year, but Trump’s interest in Ukraine is purely instrumental—a way to earn plaudits for peace—just as it was when he tried to get Zelensky to assist his 2020 reelection campaign by opening an investigation into Joe and Hunter Biden.

Trump, meanwhile, has been embarrassingly acquiescent to Putin in past conversations. During a March 2018 phone call, he congratulated Putin on his victory in an election almost universally viewed as illegitimate, despite an all-caps reminder atop his briefing sheet that warned, “DO NOT CONGRATULATE.” This was just a teaser for a meeting four months later in Helsinki, during which Trump accepted Putin’s claim that Russia hadn’t interfered in the 2016 election, and indicated that he trusted Putin over the U.S. intelligence community’s consensus view. Today, Trump is meeting with Putin one-on-one, without aides who might help keep him on track.

Trump’s posture in Anchorage will go some way toward revealing how serious and durable his disaffection with Putin is. But it won’t end the war, and it may not even offer much progress toward a resolution. On Wednesday, Trump warned that there would be “very severe consequences” if Russia didn’t stop the war, but he declined to outline them: “I don’t have to say.” That’s unlikely to rattle Putin, who knows how to call a bluff. But at least it doesn’t give him another specific deadline to mock.

Related:

• Vladimir Putin could be laying a trap.

• Trump invites Putin to set foot in America.

ps:Instead of letting putin keep making me look like a fool, I would've had ICC waiting to arrest putin, but of course not!!!

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Nationwide protests

Data: Fight the Trump Takeover; Map: Axios Visuals Texas' mid-cycle redistricting is the focus of roughly 200 events across 34 states tomorrow, part of the mass protests against the Trump administration. The big picture: The movement is backed by dozens of organizations, including Indivisible, Planned Parenthood and the Democratic National Committee. Go deeper. — April Rubin

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Putin says he and Trump reached an ‘understanding’ on Ukraine August 15, 2025 Russian President Vladimir Putin said he and President Donald Trump have reached an “understanding” on Ukraine and warned Europe not to “torpedo the nascent progress.” Speaking moments later, Trump said he’d yet to speak with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy but that he’d be speaking to him and European leaders soon.

Read more   Trump administration agrees to keep DC police chief in place, but with immigration enforcement order August 15, 2025 The Trump administration on Friday reversed course and agreed to leave the Washington, D.C., police chief in control of the department, while Attorney General Pam Bondi, in a new memo, directed the District’s police to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement “notwithstanding” city law. Read more   No deal, and no answers, after brief Trump-Putin talks on Ukraine in Alaska US president claims ‘great progress’ with Russian leader but ends press conference abruptly without taking questions https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/15/trump-putin-alaska-meeting-ukraine? ps:What a waste of money! How much did this trip cost us?? Washington DC and White House agree to scale back Trump ‘takeover’ of city police White House officials and attorneys for Washington DC have agreed to scale back the Trump administration’s takeover of the city’s police department. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/15/trump-dc-police-chief-dea? Trump says Xi told him China will not invade Taiwan while he is in office The US president, Donald Trump, has said that his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, told him China would not invade Taiwan while Trump is in office. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/aug/16/donald-trump-xi-jinping-china-taiwan?

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Ukraine's Zelenskyy to meet Trump on Monday after US-Russia summit secured no peace agreement August 16, 2025 Zelenskyy said he held a “long, meaningful” conversation with Trump on Saturday after the U.S. leader met Putin in Alaska. That meeting secured no agreement to end the war. Trump said that “there’s no deal until there’s a deal,” after Putin claimed the two leaders had hammered out an “understanding” on Ukraine and warned Europe not to “torpedo the nascent progress.”

Read more   Trump says best way to end Ukraine war is to go directly to a peace accord and 'not a mere Ceasefire Agreement' August 16, 2025 Trump wrote on his social media site after the summit and calls with Ukrainian and European leaders: “It was determined by all that the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a Peace Agreement, which would end the war, and not a mere Ceasefire Agreement, which often times do not hold up.” Read more   ps:It's obvious that this meeting should've taken place with all these leaders present!!   European leaders to join Ukraine’s Zelenskyy for White House meeting with Trump August 17, 2025 The decision to join the White House meeting on Monday is an apparent attempt to prevent a repeat of the heated encounter Zelenskyy faced when he met Trump in February. Read more   No ceasefire President Trump's positions coming out of yesterday's summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska were that he no longer thinks a ceasefire is necessary, and it's "up to President Zelensky" to make peace, Axios' Barak Ravid reports. Why it matters: That's the opposite of the approach Trump endorsed on his way to the summit. The latest: Trump will host Ukrainian President Zelensky — who has been adamant that there must be a ceasefire before peace talks — for what could be a difficult meeting at the White House on Monday afternoon. ? Behind the scenes: Trump called Zelensky from Air Force One on his way back to Washington from Alaska. The call "was not easy," a source with direct knowledge said. According to the source, Trump told Zelensky and the NATO leaders that Putin doesn't want a ceasefire and prefers a comprehensive agreement to end the war. "Trump said on the call that he thinks a fast peace deal is better than a ceasefire," the source said. Trump also told Zelensky that Putin had told him Russia was making significant progress on the front lines and that if he wanted, he could capture the entire Donetsk region and other areas where fighting is taking place. Zelensky told Trump that Putin was misrepresenting the situation, the source said. ☎️ During the call, White House envoy Steve Witkoff briefed Zelensky and NATO leaders on how Putin sees the issue of territory and what he's willing to give in return. "The impression was that in return for territory, Putin is willing to end the war and commit not to try and occupy more areas in Ukraine and to not attack other countries," the source said. Via Truth Social What's next: Trump posted on Truth Social that "if all works out" he will schedule a trilateral summit with Putin and Zelensky soon. "Potentially, millions of people's lives will be saved," he wrote at 4:46 a.m. ET.

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?? ?? "Next time in Moscow"

Yesterday's summit began as a superpower spectacle, then abruptly ended without any indication of what was achieved or where things go from here.

• President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin scrapped a planned lunch and departed early — but not before both declared the meeting a success, Axios' Dave Lawler writes.

? Between the lines: It's not hard to see why Putin likely left Anchorage satisfied. Images of Trump applauding as he walked down the red carpet were beamed back to Russia, and around the world.

• "They spent three years telling everyone Russia was isolated, and today they saw the beautiful red carpet laid out for the Russian president in the U.S.," Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova noted.

For now at least, Putin seems to have reset a relationship with Trump that had been splintering. Their brief joint press conference was short on substance but long on mutual praise.

• Afterward, Trump told Fox News' Sean Hannity that new oil sanctions for Russia — which were imminent until Putin proposed the meeting — were now probably off the table for a few weeks.

He also said he and Putin agreed on most but not all issues, and it was now "up to President Zelensky to get it done."

Trump insisted that progress was made on a number of issues, though not on the "biggest" one, without offering any specifics.

• En route to Alaska, the president told Fox "I won't be happy" if Putin doesn't agree to a ceasefire.

But after the summit, Trump said he was happy. "I think the meeting was a ten," he told Hannity.

• Still, Trump was somewhat downbeat during the joint appearance. While Putin claimed an unspecified "agreement," Trump brushed that off and said: "We didn't get there."

Putin offered a suggestion, in English, as the summit drew to a close: "Next time, in Moscow."

ps:A plain waste of time!!!!

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Trump runs into the difficulty of Putin diplomacy and ending a long war

U.S. President Donald Trump walked into a summit with Russia’s Vladimir Putin pressing for a ceasefire deal and threatening “severe consequences” and tough new sanctions if the Kremlin leader failed to agree to halt the fighting in Ukraine. Instead, Trump was the one who stood down. It was a dramatic reversal that laid bare the challenges of dealing with Putin and the complexities of a conflict that Trump had repeatedly boasted during his campaign that he could solve within 24 hours. Read more.   Three Republican-led states to send hundreds of National Guard troops to Washington West Virginia, South Carolina and Ohio said Saturday that they were deploying hundreds of National Guard members to the nation’s capital to bolster the Trump administration’s effort to overhaul policing in Washington through a federal crackdown on crime and homelessness. Read more.

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? Putin's maximalist claims

The peace terms that Russian President Vladimir Putin laid out at the summit with President Trump included Ukraine withdrawing entirely from two of its eastern regions, Axios' Barak Ravid and Dave Lawler report.

• ? What's next: Trump will meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky tomorrow in Washington. He also told European leaders in a post-summit call that he wants to arrange a trilateral summit with Putin and Zelensky as soon as this Friday, two sources briefed on the call said.
• ⚡ New this morning: European leaders will join Zelensky during his White House meeting with Trump — an apparent effort to prevent a repeat of February's heated Oval Office confrontation.

But based on Putin's conditions, a major breakthrough appears unlikely.

? Breaking it down: Trump and his special envoy Steve Witkoff briefed Zelensky and several European leaders on Putin's positions last night on their flight back to Washington from Anchorage.

• They said Putin had demanded that Ukraine cede two of the four regions to which Russia has laid claim (Donetsk and Luhansk), and freeze the front lines in the other two (Kherson and Zaporizhzhia). Russia controls nearly all of Luhansk, but only about three-quarters of Donetsk.

Between the lines: This proposal calls for significantly more territory to shift from Ukrainian to Russian control than vice versa. Moscow might argue that is reasonable, since Russia has the upper hand militarily. But Ukraine would almost certainly reject it.

• Putin also requested that the U.S. recognize Russia's sovereignty in the parts of Ukraine it would gain under a peace deal, according to the source.

Keep reading.

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? Feeling the squeeze

Illustration: Rebecca Zisser/Axios

Consumers and businesses are feeling the pinch from President Trump's trade war, with costs soaring for grocery staples and critical materials. Why it matters: It's no longer anecdotal. The effects are difficult to ignore across key inflation indicators that might only get hotter in the months ahead, Axios' Courtenay Brown writes. ? The big picture: Global tariffs are putting upward pressure on costs. U.S. businesses are bearing the brunt, contrary to White House hopes that foreign suppliers would take some of the hit. Between the lines: Import prices might cool if exporters around the globe were discounting goods to help ease the tariff burden for their U.S. buyers. But the opposite was the case last month: Import prices rose at the quickest pace this year, "casting further doubt on the 'foreigners will pay' talk from the administration," ING global economist James Knightley writes. ? Threat level: Wholesale prices rose at the fastest pace in three years last month — higher costs that might be passed on to the consumer down the line. Fresh and dry vegetable prices rose by almost 40% last month, the largest spike since inflation took off in 2022. Read on.

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3 states send National Guard to D.C.

Travelers walk past National Guard troops at Union Station in Washington on Thursday evening. Photo: Eric Lee for The New York Times Three Republican-led states are deploying hundreds of National Guard members to the nation's capital to bolster the Trump administration's effort to overhaul policing in Washington. West Virginia said it's deploying 300 to 400 Guard troops, South Carolina pledged 200 and Ohio says it'll send 150, AP reports. Why it matters: The new troops — adding to federal law enforcement and 800 D.C. National Guard members — mark a significant escalation of the federal intervention. The Republican governors of the three states said they're sending the soldiers at the request of the Trump administration. A protest against Trump's intervention drew scores to Dupont Circle yesterday before a march to the White House, about 1½ miles away. Demonstrators assembled behind a banner that said: "No fascist takeover of D.C." Some in the crowd held signs saying: "No military occupation." Keep reading.

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? MAGA eager to spread D.C. takeover

Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Park Police officers detain a person on the National Mall on Wednesday in D.C. Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images President Trump's MAGA movement sees his D.C. crackdown as bigger than crime — it's an opportunity to deal another setback to liberals by expanding the movement in urban areas, Axios' Tal Axelrod reports. Why it matters: Despite the protests over Trump's stunning show of force on D.C.'s streets, MAGA's most vocal voices believe that if the anti-crime push is successful — and Trump is certain to declare it so — it could win converts in cities and help expand the movement's rural base. "We have an opportunity to show city folks that life doesn't have to be this way," one senior MAGA media figure told Axios. "There are things you can do to control crime. This definitely could spread to other cities, simply by demand." ? Reality check: Trump's D.C. crime claims don't match the data. Violent crime is falling in the city, not rising, Axios D.C.'s Anna Spiegel reports. Plus, D.C.'s status as a federal city gives the president unique powers with the National Guard and federal law enforcement there. Any attempt by Trump to impose similar federal patrols in other Democrat-run cities likely would be met with the type of protests that Trump's immigration crackdown sparked in Los Angeles. Even in D.C., Trump's efforts are facing legal hurdles. A federal judge on Friday got the administration to back off replacing the head of the city's police department with the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration. ?️ For now, MAGA-friendly podcasters are gleefully speculating about what other blue cities could get the same treatment. Cities Trump has slapped with the "high-crime" stereotype — Baltimore, Chicago, San Francisco and more — are being cited as logical next steps for federal intervention. They want to activate "citycons," as podcaster Jack Posobiec said on his show Thursday — urban Americans supposedly pushed to the right by crime concerns. Read on.

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?️ N.Y. Post week in review

Covers: New York Post Go deeper: "Fired DOJ employee could face prison for throwing sandwich at officer" (WashPost gift link). Trump runs into the difficulty of Putin diplomacy and ending a long war U.S. President Donald Trump walked into a summit with Russia’s Vladimir Putin pressing for a ceasefire deal and threatening “severe consequences” and tough new sanctions if the Kremlin leader failed to agree to halt the fighting in Ukraine. Instead, Trump was the one who stood down. It was a dramatic reversal that laid bare the challenges of dealing with Putin and the complexities of a conflict that Trump had repeatedly boasted during his campaign that he could solve within 24 hours. Read more.

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European leaders to join Ukraine’s Zelenskyy for meeting with Trump

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — European and NATO leaders announced Sunday they will join President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Washington to present a united front in talks with President Donald Trump on ending Russia’s war in Ukraine and firming up U.S. security guarantees now on the negotiating table.

https://apnews.com/article/european-leaders-white-house-meeting-zelenskyy-trump-d7b082bae4136ef8932e16ac2d166303?

ps:Good for them!! But unfortunately it probably won't do any good!! Europe will probably have to go it alone!!!!! But I'm praying all goes well!!!!!

The Incredible Disappearing Human Rights Reports

The State Department released its annual reports on human rights around the world on Tuesday, and revealed an administration set on whitewashing the records of some of the world’s worst violators of human rights.

https://theintercept.com/2025/08/14/state-department-human-rights-reports/?

ps:Of course, nothing new here, same ole, same ole!!!!!

ICE Deportation Airline Avelo Relies on Blue-State Subsidies. Will Dem Governors Do Anything About It?

Thousands of people around the country have joined a boycott of a passenger airline profiting off President Donald Trump’s mass deportation machine.

https://theintercept.com/2025/08/14/avelo-airlines-ice-flights-deportation-subsidies-protest/?

ps:Well that was interesting! So the republican state won't or will not pay for this bull manure? So we'll do it from the democratic states?? Well now that they know lets see how long this goes on!!!!!

Trump the Landlord Plans to Speed Up Evictions From Public Housing

President Donald Trump is preparing to revoke eviction protections for people living in federal public housing and project-based rental assistance programs — increasing the risk for millions of Americans to fall into homelessness. 

https://theintercept.com/2025/08/15/trump-eviction-notice-public-housing/?

ps:I guess he really doesn't care about homelessness after all!!

Can Congress Stop Trump From Starting a War in Mexico?

More than 30 humanitarian, public interest, immigrant rights, faith-based, veterans’ advocacy, and drug policy reform groups are calling on Congress to oppose the use of military force against drug cartels in Latin America by the Trump administration.

https://theintercept.com/2025/08/15/trump-mexico-war-cartels/?

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Ukraine Talks Continue

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders are meeting with President Trump today at the White House. The gathering comes days after Trump's summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, Alaska.    The White House did not provide a formal readout of that meeting. Since then, Trump has dropped the demand for a ceasefire as a precondition for peace talks. According to reports, Putin would be willing to halt the offensive in Ukraine’s southeastern Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions and freeze the front lines in exchange for Ukrainian withdrawal from Donbas—a region Putin has partially occupied since 2014 and worked to fully capture since 2022. Putin has also reportedly agreed to allow the US and Europe to provide security guarantees to Ukraine.   Zelenskyy has rejected ceding territory to Russia, recently calling for a ceasefire. NATO’s secretary-general, the European Commission president, and the leaders of France, Germany, Italy, Finland, and the UK will join today’s meeting—a change in format from February’s meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy.

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Trump's peace dance

The shadows of President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin onstage Friday at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska. Photo: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters Advisers say President Trump's sole short-term goal for his Russia-Ukraine diplomacy is to get the countries' leaders face-to-face to talk peace, Axios' Marc Caputo writes. "Everything else is foreplay," a Trump adviser tells Axios. "Everything is to get to that moment for peace." Why it matters: Trump was heavily criticized for abruptly abandoning his demand for a ceasefire from Russian President Vladimir Putin during their Alaska summit on Friday. Putin has increased the pressure on Ukraine militarily by pressing forward with the invasion. He has intensified missile and drone strikes in the hope of gobbling up more territory, giving him more leverage at the negotiating table. ?️ The big picture: White House advisers claim today's crucial meeting between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office (1:15 p.m. ET) is evidence of momentum from the summit with Putin. A Trump adviser told Axios: "I'm sure Putin is waiting to see how Monday goes. But it's everybody's expectation — not just the always-rosy Donald Trump, but also [Steve] Witkoff and [Secretary of State Marco] Rubio — that Putin will meet" with Zelensky. "There's a way to make a deal: Get the buyer and the seller in the same room at the same time discussing it," said one of the Trump advisers familiar with the talks. "What we're trying to figure out is if both sides really want a deal and what the contours look like." Administration officials describe a three-step process: Get Putin to sit down in a bilateral meeting with the U.S. to agree to steps toward peace. Get Zelensky to sit down in today's bilateral meeting with the U.S. to agree to steps toward peace. Get Putin and Zelensky to sit together to hash it all out in a trilateral meeting that involves the U.S. It's unclear if that will happen. ? Friction point: In Alaska, Putin issued maximalist demands when discussing five disputed regions of Ukraine, including Donetsk, where Russia currently controls roughly 75% of the territory. Putin wants all of Donetsk — and at one point seemed so firm on his demand that Trump was ready to walk away. "If Donetsk is the thing here and if there is no give, we should just not prolong this," Trump recalled saying to Putin, according to a source. Putin then reportedly backed off that demand. U.S. intelligence estimates vary on Russia's strength, a source said. One assessment posits that Putin could seize all of Donetsk by October. Another predicts a far harder and inconclusive slog. The bottom line: Appearing on Sunday shows, Rubio said the war is only getting worse — and that only Trump could score meetings with the leaders of both Ukraine and Russia. "20,000 Russian soldiers were killed last month, in July, in this war," Rubio told Margaret Brennan on CBS' "Face the Nation." "That just tells you the price they're willing to pay. ... It's a meat grinder, and [the Russians] just have more meat to grind." Trump left Anchorage so quickly that a planned working lunch with Putin (filet mignon + halibut) was scrapped. Trump officials left behind the schedule, menu and seating chart on the printer in a hotel business center, NPR reported. (See the eight-page packet.) The 12-minute press appearance had been penciled in for an hour. ? The public explanations were left to Rubio and Witkoff on Sunday shows. They appeared on seven programs, insisting that an immediate ceasefire wasn't feasible — but that good progress was made with Putin.

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? Trump's war on numbers

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Photo: Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images

The Trump administration is undermining — or has stopped collecting — key data that kept the public informed about the state of the nation, Axios' Erica Pandey writes. Why it matters: From Congress to city halls to boardrooms, critical decisions rely on accurate government data and public trust in that data. Without it, leaders risk making costly mistakes that could affect millions. ? Economy: President Trump blasted the July jobs report — and fired the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. ? Environment: The EPA says it will no longer update a database hundreds of U.S. companies use to calculate their greenhouse gas emissions, The New York Times reports. ? Health care: Data of all kinds is evaporating because of staffing cuts and orders to eliminate DEI references, The Washington Post reports. Keep reading.

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⚖️ The A.G. that Trump always wanted

Attorney General Pam Bondi, criticized within MAGA world and beyond over the Jeffrey Epstein files, "appears to have retained the backing that matters most" — President Trump's, Washington Post alumnus Ruth Marcus writes in a 12-page Bondi profile in The New Yorker, "Power Play."

• A prominent conservative lawyer and Justice Department veteran told Marcus that in Bondi, "Trump has the Attorney General he always wanted."

In late July, when Bondi "seemed at risk of losing her job over the ongoing fiasco," Marcus, a Harvard Law grad, "asked to speak to Susie Wiles, the President's chief of staff. Wiles, who has known Bondi since she ran for Florida attorney general in 2010, called that very night, and praised her in terms I hadn't expected":

"You know, she looks like Barbie. She's blond and beautiful, and I think people will underestimate her because of how she looks. But she's got nerves of steel, and she has stood up to some withering situations with a fair amount of grace." About Bondi's relationship with Trump, Wiles was succinct. "I have a long one," she said. "Hers is longer."

The big picture: "During the past six months," Marcus writes, "Bondi has presided over the most convulsive transition of power in the Justice Department since the Watergate era, and perhaps in the hundred-and-fifty-five-year history of the department."

• "No Attorney General has been as aggressive in reversing policies or firing personnel. None has been as willing to cede the department's traditional independence from the White House."

Keep reading.

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Trump’s DEI ban in K-12 schools, higher ed ruled ‘unlawful’ by federal judge

WASHINGTON —  A federal judge in Maryland has struck down the U.S. Education Department’s attempts to do away with diversity, equity and inclusion practices in schools.

https://floridaphoenix.com/2025/08/15/repub/trumps-dei-ban-in-k-12-schools-higher-ed-ruled-unlawful-by-federal-judge/?

Trump administration halts visas for people from Gaza after Laura Loomer questions arrivals A day after conservative activist Laura Loomer posted videos on social media of children from Gaza arriving in the U.S. for medical treatment and questioning how they got visas, the State Department said it was halting all visitor visas for people from Gaza pending a review. Read more.

What to know: The State Department said Saturday the visas would be stopped while it looks into how “a small number of temporary medical-humanitarian visas” were issued in recent days. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday told “Face the Nation” on CBS that the action came after ”outreach from multiple congressional offices asking questions about it.”   Loomer on Friday posted videos on X of children from Gaza arriving earlier this month in San Francisco and Houston for medical treatment with the aid of an organization called HEAL Palestine. She called it a “national security threat” and asked who signed off on the visas, calling for the person to be fired. Trump has downplayed Loomer’s influence on his administration, but several officials swiftly left or were removed shortly after she publicly criticized them.   HEAL Palestine said in a statement Sunday that it was “distressed” by the State Department decision to halt visitor visas from Gaza. The group said it is “an American humanitarian nonprofit organization delivering urgent aid and medical care to children in Palestine.”

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Israel’s growing frustration over the war in Gaza erupts in nationwide protests   WATCH: Netanyahu affirms taking over Gaza as condition to ending the war in the Strip   The Trump administration wants to end the UN peacekeeping in Lebanon. Europe is pushing back

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Putin agrees that US, Europe could offer NATO-style security guarantees to Ukraine, Trump envoy says Russian leader Vladimir Putin agreed at his summit with President Donald Trump that the United States and its European allies could offer Ukraine a security guarantee resembling NATO’s collective defense mandate as part of an eventual deal to end the war, a U.S. official said Sunday. Read more.

Why this matters: Trump envoy Steve Witkoff, who took part in the talks Friday at a military base in Alaska, said it “was the first time we had ever heard the Russians agree to that” and called it “game-changing.” Witkoff offered few details on how such an arrangement would work.   On Sunday night, however, Trump seemed to put the onus on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to agree to concessions. “President Zelenskyy of Ukraine can end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to, or he can continue to fight,” he wrote. “Remember how it started. No getting back Obama given Crimea (12 years ago, without a shot being fired!), and NO GOING INTO NATO BY UKRAINE. Some things never change!!!”   It was expected to be a key topic Monday as Zelenskyy and major European leaders meet with Trump at the White House to discuss ending the 3 1/2-year conflict.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Zelenskyy brings Europe’s top leaders with him to meet Trump on ending Russia’s war   What to know about Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula coveted by both Russia and Ukraine   Hijacked satellites and orbiting space weapons: In the 21st century, space is the new battlefield

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Black mayors of cities Trump decries as ‘lawless’ tout significant declines in violent crimes Members of the African American Mayors Association started noticing last year declines in violent crime in their cities. But, those accomplishments, which they felt were already overlooked, became further buried in the past week with the Trump administration’s unprecedented law enforcement takeover in the nation’s capital. Read more.

Why this matters: President Donald Trump has deployed the first of 800 National Guard members to Washington, D.C. But, the Republican president is setting his sights on other cities including Baltimore, Chicago, Los Angeles and Oakland, California. One thing they all have in common: They’re led by Black mayors.   The cities have been seeing a drop in violent crime after a pandemic-era spike. In some cases, the declines were monumental, due in large part to more youth engagement, gun buyback programs, and community partnerships.   Trump argued that federal law enforcement had to step in after a prominent employee of the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, was attacked in an attempted carjacking. He also pointed to homeless encampments, graffiti and potholes as evidence of Washington “getting worse.” However statistics published by Washington’s Metropolitan Police contradict the president and show violent crime has dropped there since a post-pandemic peak in 2023.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Trump’s aggressive push to take over DC policing may be a template for an approach in other cities   Photos of ‘Free D.C.’ protest against Trump’s federal takeover of Washington police   Judge denies Trump administration request to end a policy protecting immigrant children in custody   Man struck and killed on freeway after fleeing immigration agents, California official says   Photos of border patrol arresting a woman selling food and workers at an LA car wash   Los Angeles school year begins amid fears over immigration enforcement   Texas Republicans set to resume push for redrawn US House maps   California Democrats’ push for redistricting faces a tight legislative deadline   In Trump’s redistricting push, Democrats find an aggressive identity and progressives are on board   Trump tax law could cause Medicare cuts if Congress doesn’t act, CBO says   Inflation or jobs: Federal Reserve officials are divided over competing concerns   Bad diets, too many meds, no exercise: A look inside the latest ‘Make America Healthy Again’ report   Critics say Trump’s push for fairness in college admissions is leaving out legacy preferences   Republicans look to make a U-turn on federal commitment to electric vehicles for the Postal Service   South Carolina celebrates another interstate expansion after influx of money to crumbling system   New Orleans mayor indicted over allegations of trying to hide relationship with bodyguard   Brooklyn construction magnate gets probation for funneling illegal donations to NYC Mayor Eric Adams

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Trump’s Chaotic Truth Social Meltdown Hours Before High-Stakes Meeting

The president clearly had a lot to brain-dump before bedtime.

Donald Trump fired off a dizzying barrage of Truth Social posts on Sunday evening, raging at criticism over his summit with Vladimir Putin, calling a Democrat senator “unattractive,” and boasting about his beloved White House flags.

Trump had been active on Truth Social for most of Sunday, raging against criticism of his summit flop alongside Putin and taking aim at MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace.

His outrage continued into Sunday night with a flurry of posts, defending himself against criticism of the Friday meeting with the Russian president in Alaska while adding a pointed message to Volodymyr Zelensky ahead of his meeting with the Ukrainian president on Monday.

In one post, Trump fumed, “The very unattractive (both inside and out!) Senator from Connecticut, Chris Murphy, said ‘Putin got everything that he wanted.’ Actually, ‘nobody got anything,’ too soon, but getting close.”

Trump also called out “stupid” people, including John Bolton. “This war can be ended, NOW, but stupid people like Chris Murphy, [former National Security Adviser] John Bolton, and others, make it much harder to do so.”

Trump had apparently watched Murphy on NBC’s Meet the Press, where the Democratic senator called Friday’s meeting in Alaska “a disaster,” arguing that Trump played directly into Putin’s hands by inviting him to America.

“It was an embarrassment for the United States, it was a failure. Putin got everything he wanted,” Murphy told host Kirsten Welker on Sunday. “He wanted that photo op, he wanted to be absolved of his war crimes in front of the world.” Trump responded by calling Murphy a “lightweight” and claimed that Putin had actually preferred the meeting take place elsewhere.

“The Fake News has been saying for 3 days that I suffered a ‘major defeat’ by allowing President Vladimir Putin of Russia to have a major Summit in the United States,“ Trump posted. “Actually, he would have loved doing the meeting anywhere else but the U.S., and the Fake News knows this. It was a major point of contention!”

The president predicted that if the summit had been held somewhere, as Putin requested, “the Democrat run and controlled media would have said what a terrible thing THAT was. These people are sick!”

Trump’s red-carpet reception for Putin—who is wanted by the International Criminal Court over alleged war crimes in Ukraine—marked the first time the Russian dictator has set foot on U.S. soil in over a decade.

Seven minutes later, Trump posted another rant claiming that Zelensky “can end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to, or he can continue to fight.”

Setting an uneasy tone for their much-anticipated talks, Trump added Ukraine should not expect NATO membership or to reclaim the occupied Crimean peninsula from Russia.

“Remember how it started,” Trump wrote. “No getting back Obama given Crimea (12 years ago, without a shot being fired!), and NO GOING INTO NATO BY UKRAINE. Some things never change!!!”

Trump barely had time to think before firing off another post, claiming, “Big day at the White House tomorrow. Never had so many European Leaders at one time. My great honor to host them!!!”

Zelensky will make his second visit to the White House on Monday with a slew of European leaders including Britain’s Keir Starmer, Germany’s Friedrich Merz and France’s Emmanuel Macron.

With his mind on the future, Trump then posted, “The Fake News will say that it is a big loss for President Trump to host so many great European Leaders at our beautiful White House. Actually, it is a great honor for America!!!”

After a four-minute break, Trump repeated one of his favorite claims, saying, “One year ago, the United States was an almost DEAD COUNTRY. Now we are the ‘HOTTEST’ Country anywhere in the World, the envy of all.” He added the humblebrag, “What a difference a President makes!!!”

The presidential brain dump took a pause and also a change in direction when Trump posted, “Do the great American Flags I put up in front of both entrances of the White House look FANTASTIC, or what??? WOW, what a difference!!! President DJT.”

The two flags were installed in June, with Trump telling reporters at the time, “These are the best poles anywhere in the country or in the world.”

Trump took a brief pause before posting clips of various Fox News segments, including a discussion on one of the president’s favorite new distraction tactics: Obama.

Zelensky, for his part, posted confirmation of his arrival in Washington on Sunday night. “We all share a strong desire to end this war quickly and reliably,” he posted.

“And peace must be lasting. Not like it was years ago, when Ukraine was forced to give up Crimea and part of our East—part of Donbas—and Putin simply used it as a springboard for a new attack,” Zelensky wrote on X.

“Of course, Crimea should not have been given up then, just as Ukrainians did not give up Kyiv, Odesa, or Kharkiv after 2022. Ukrainians are fighting for their land, for their independence.

“I am confident that we will defend Ukraine, effectively guarantee security, and that our people will always be grateful to President Trump, everyone in America, and every partner and ally for their support and invaluable assistance. Russia must end this war, which it itself started. And I hope that our joint strength with America, with our European friends, will force Russia into a real peace. Thank you!”

https://www.thedailybeast.com/trumps-chaotic-truth-social-meltdown-hours-before-high-stakes-meeting/?

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Zelensky Undermines Trump Before Big Meeting Even Begins

The two presidents clash on social media about how to end the war in Ukraine.

Volodymyr Zelensky only waited a matter of minutes to publicly reject an overnight demand from Donald Trump before their White House meeting alongside European leaders on Monday.

Trump used his Truth Social account to show his apparent stance going into the meeting, writing, “President Zelensky of Ukraine can end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to, or he can continue to fight.”

Trump’s post repeated the demands Russian President Vladimir Putin had put on ending the war, and which have been rejected previously.

“Remember how it started. No getting back Obama given Crimea (12 years ago, without a shot being fired!), and NO GOING INTO NATO BY UKRAINE,” Trump wrote. “Some things never change!!!”

The two are expected to see each other at 1:00 p.m. ET on Monday before entering the meeting at 1:15 p.m. ET. After inconclusive peace talks with Putin in Alaska, Trump called Zelensky on Saturday, with the Ukrainian president agreeing to the Monday meeting to “discuss all of the details regarding ending the killing and the war.”

During the call, Trump offered support for U.S. security assurance for Ukraine after the war, a shift from his stance that Europe should bear the burden of protecting the country, though the specifics were unclear.

The last meeting at the White House saw Zelensky criticized for not wearing a suit before being berated by Trump and Vice President JD Vance.

After landing in D.C. on Sunday, Zelensky took to his social media to post he was “grateful” to Trump for the invitation and said, “we all share a strong desire to end this war quickly and reliably.”

The Ukrainian leader, however, then approached the issue of Crimea in his X post. The foundations of the current war began in 2014, when Russia invaded the Crimean Peninsula, which was part of Ukraine, and annexed it.

In February 2022, Russia started the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II when it invaded Ukraine.

“Peace must be lasting,” Zelensky said in his post. “Not like it was years ago, when Ukraine was forced to give up Crimea and part of our East—part of Donbas—and Putin simply used it as a springboard for a new attack.”

He added, “Of course, Crimea should not have been given up then, just as Ukrainians did not give up Kyiv, Odesa, or Kharkiv after 2022. Ukrainians are fighting for their land, for their independence. Now, our soldiers have successes in Donetsk and Sumy regions.”

While Zelensky did not link the issue of Crimea to Trump’s post, the president had posted his own message to Zelensky just 90 minutes earlier.

Zelensky did address Trump directly at one point, however, writing, “I am confident that we will defend Ukraine, effectively guarantee security, and that our people will always be grateful to President Trump, everyone in America, and every partner and ally for their support and invaluable assistance.”

He also addressed Trump’s messaging on the conflict between the countries, with the Ukrainian president stating, “Russia must end this war, which it itself started. And I hope that our joint strength with America, with our European friends, will force Russia into a real peace.”

Zelensky will be joined at the meeting by fellow European leaders U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, and French President Emmanuel Macron.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will also be present, confirming she was attending the meeting “at the request of President Zelensky.”

On Sunday, Trump posted that the White House had “Never had so many European Leaders at one time” and that it was his “great honor to host them!!!”

The extra European support is said to be in aid of Zelensky after his last disastrous visit and Vance’s Oval Office attack.

When Trump mentioned a ceasefire, Zelensky said, “We don’t just need a ceasefire. We’ve done that before—Putin violated it 25 times, including during your presidency, Mr. President.”

Vance pointed his finger at Zelensky during the meeting and said, “Do you think that it’s respectful to come to the Oval Office of the United States of America and attack the administration that is trying to prevent the destruction of your country?”

Trump added, “If you didn’t have our military equipment, this war would’ve been over in two weeks! You have to be thankful, you don’t have the cards.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio denied the European leaders are there for reinforcement.

“They’re not coming here to keep Zelensky from getting bullied,” he told Margaret Brennan on CBS’s Face the Nation.

“They are coming here tomorrow because we’ve been working with the Europeans. We invited them to come.”

https://www.thedailybeast.com/volodymyr-zelensky-fires-back-at-trump-before-big-meeting-even-begins/?